Cotton stripper



Dec. 12, 1950 M. w. RoscoE COTTON STRIPPER Filed April 5, 1945 ssheets-sheet 1 NGE INVENTOR. l MERRILLW. ROSOOE M. W. ROSCOE COTTONSTRIPPER Dec. 12, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5,' 1945 VENTOR. tMERRILLWROSCOE BY A //,z

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 M. w. RoscoE COTTON STRIPPER Dec; 12, 1950 Filed April5, 1945 Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE COTTONSTRIPPER Merrill W. Roscoe, Moline,illl., assignor to Deere & Company,Moline, Ill., `a corporation of `Illinois Application April 5, 1945,Serial No. 586,780

ers of the stripper type, and has for its principal object the provisionof a novel and improved cotton stripper thatoperates more efficientlyand gathers less trash Aalong with the cotton, but which is simpleinconstruction and inexpensive to manufacture.

-This invention is in thenature of an improvement over the cottonstripper disclosed in Patent 2,045,633, granted June 30,1936, to Court.Strippers of this type are provided with a stripping Aroll and a concavestripper plate disposed alongside the roll, -the cotton plants beingreceived between the roll and the plate as-the machine advances throughthe eld. Heretofore, the stripping roll has been-provided with aplurality of axially and peripherally spaced pegs or teeth which engagethe bolls of cotton on the plants, tearing them loose and tossing themlaterally into a cleaning trough which contains a number of rotarybeaters which agitate-the bolls and cause the stems andleaves to dropthrough the perforated bottom of the trough.

Under some conditions of operation, in which the boils of cotton arevery easily separated from the plants, it is desirable `to provide lessaggresive stripping means so thatless trash in the -i'orm of stems,leaves, and dirt, is separated from the plants and results in a muchcleaner harvested crop. However, Ihave found that merely removing thepegs or teeth Vfrom the stripper roll introduces other problems, forthere is then no means for urging the stripped cottonbolls laterallyinto the cleaning trough, with the result that the bolls tend to ride ontop of the roll and lstripper plate.

One of the objects of my invention, therefore, has to do with theprovision of stripping mechansm, which is less aggressive than `themechanism heretofore known yto those skilled in the art, but whichincludes provision for urging the stripped cotton boils laterally intothe cleaning trough.

' -Still a further object of my invention relates l my invention will beapparent to those skilled f 2 in the` art after a consideration of thefollowing description, in which reference is had to the drawings`appended hereto, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view ofatractor mountedcotton harvester embodying the principles of myinvention, the outer cover ofthe implement` and the nearwheel of thetractor being removed to show the details of the driving mechanism.

Figure :iy is a vertical sectional vie-W of the harvesting unit, drawnto an enlarged scale, and taken in section alonga line `2--2 in Figure3.

Figure 3is aplan view of the harvesting unit, drawn to the same rscaleas Figure 2, and with portions of the walls broken away to show themechanism within the housing, also parts of the mechanism being shown insection.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational View taken along a line` 4-4 `inFigure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view taken along a line 5--5inrFigure 3, showing a device for lateral adjustment of the side wall ofthe housing.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary bottom view as lviewed along a line 5-6 inFigure 4, showing another provision for lateral adjustment of the sidewall of the housing.

Figure 'I is aifragmentary top plan view showing a harvester unitmounted on one side of aV tractor.

Referringnow to the drawings, the tractor is indicated in its entiretyby reference numeral I0 and comprises a narrow longitudinally extendingframe `Il mounted `on a centrally disposed dirigible wheel truck l2 atits forward end, and having conventional rear axle housings I3, withinwhich are journaled drive axles I4 carried on laterallyspaced tractionwheels l5, respectively.

The cotton harvester comprises a gathering andcleaning unit I6 andanelevating unit I1 for conveying the-harvested cotton to a Wagonortrailer (not shown) behind the tractor, The gathering unit I 5 isVswingably mounted on the rear ,axle housing i3 of the'tractorbetweenthe body or fframe il and the ltraction wheel lrby means `providing forvertcial swinging movement about a transverse axis.

The gathering unit iB includesan angle iron frame comprising a yoke I8consisting of a transverse angle member I9 across the top of the unit I6and a pair of downwardly and for.- wardly inclined, laterally spacedinner and outer angle "mtmbers 20, `2l .A pair of laterallyspaced Ytweenthe two side walls 2d., 25. roll 35 is inclined forwardly and downwardlyand angle members 22, 22 are secured to the upper portion of theinclined frame members 2l, 2U, respectively, and extend generallyhorizontally rearwardly therefrom, forming the upper longitudinallyextending corners of the frame i6. A pair of inner and outer laterallyspaced vertical side sheets 245, are mounted at their forward ends onthe frame members 2t, 2l, respectively, and extend rearwardly therefrom,their upper edges being fixed to the horizontally disposed frame members22', 22. .An angle iron frame member 23 is'secured by bolts 23' to theinner side wall 24. The sheets 24, 25 form a plant receiving passage 25therebetween, within which the row of cotton plants is received forharvesting as the implement advances in the field.

'Ihe cotton bolls are stripped from the plants by means of a rotatablestripper' roll 39, which is generally cylindrical in shape and whichextends longitudinally below the passageway be- The stripper has aconical forward end 3l which is adapted Vto be inserted under the plantto gather the latter along one side of the roll 35 between the roll anda stripper plate 32. The stripper plate 32 is mounted on the inner wall24 and extends alongside the stripper roll substantially parallelthereto. The plate is provided with a concave stripping surface 33,spaced from the adjacent surface of the cylindrical roll and formed onvan arc of curvature about the axis of the roll.

This forms a continuous slot between the roll and the curved surface 33,which is in the order of three-quarters of an inch in width, throughwhich the plants in the row are drawn down" Awardly as the machineadvances, while the roll rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed inFigure 4. The surface of the roll 35 is provided with circumferentiallyspaced longitudinally extending flutes or grooves 34, which provide agentle frictional eifect for dislodging the cotton bolls from the plantas the latter are pulled through the slot by the forward movement of themachine. It will be noted that the curved surface 33 curves upwardlyover the adjacent surface of the roll to a point above the latter, andthe plate 52 has a top surface 35 which inclines upwardly and laterallyfrom the upper edge of the curved surface 33 to the inside of the wall24. This top surface 35 is inclined upwardly and laterally away from theroll at an 'angle of substantially fifteen degrees from a plane tangentto the top of the roll.

The roll 35 is mounted rigidly and coaxially upon a supporting shaft 35,which is journaled at its upper and rearward end in a gear casing 3'!disposed transversely of the gathering unit I6. A drive shaft 38 extendstransversely through the gear casing 3l and is rotatably supported in apair of laterally spaced ball bearings 39,

"55. The roll shaft 56 is driven from the drive shaft '38 through a pairof intermeshing beveled gears 44, 45. The forward end of the rollsupporting shaft 36 is supported in a bearing member 46, which iscarried on a bracket il? which is rigidly carried on the bottom of ahousing portion 58 which extends laterally from the outer side wall 25,for housing cleaning mechanism, as will be described later. Thus, theroll 30 is ac tually made in two sections, spaced apart to re- -ceivethe bearing in a manner well known to those skilled in theart.

The cleaner' housing d3 comprises a top Wall i4@ extending laterallyfrom the lower edge 35,'

of the outer passage wall 25, an outer side Wall 59 substantiallyparallel to the wall 25, and a curved front end wall 5l, curvingdownwardly from the top wall (t9. A bottom wall 52 is disn posed withinthe housing 58 and is provided with a plurality of laterally spacedslots 53, through which dirt and trash from the cotton are allowed todrop to the ground. A plurality of rotatable cleaning devices in theform of pin rolls 55, 56, 57, 5S are provided within the cleaner housinges, for the purpose of agitating the material stripped from the cottonplants, to separate the trash and dirt from the cotton bolls and propelthe latter upwardly and rearwardly over the bottoni wall 52 of thecleaner housing 43.

Each of the pin rolls comprises a shaft 50 disposed transversely andjournaled in a bearing sleeve 5i, which is provided with a supportingflange 52 secured by bolts S2 to the outer side of the side wall 55.Each of the pin rolls 55, 56, 5i, 58 is provided with a cylindrical rollbody 53 which is rigidly mounted on the shaft 5) on a pair of axiallyspaced spiders 55, Sie. The cylindrical body G3 carries a plurality ofoutwardly extending pins or lingers 55. Each of the pin rolls revolvesin a counterclockwise dlrection as viewed in Figure 2, and the fingers65 are curved in a trailing direction and are adapted to engage theharvested material within the housing i3 to agitate the same, therebycausing the dirt, twigs, and leaves to drop through the slots 53 in thebottom of the housing 48. The bottomv Wall 52 is curved in a series ofwaves, providing transverse troughs 58 beneath the rotatable pin rolls,with crests 69 between the latter. Rotation of the rolls causes thelingers 55 to engage the cotton bolls lying in the troughs to propel thebolls rearwardly over the perforated floor plate 52.

A two bladed propeller 65 is mounted on the inner end of each of the pinroll shafts 55, each propeller t6 having a pitch adapted to urge thecotton bolls laterally over the stripper roll into the cleaner housing,and also to induce air currents transversely across the top of thestripper roll 39 into the cleaner housing 48, which aid in moving thebolls laterally.

The housing 48 is also provided with an innell wall El extendingsubstantially parallel to the wall 24 substantially in the plane of thewall 25 but having an upper edge 5l terminating beneath the stripperroll 35. Thiswall 6l is spaced from wall 24 to define the lower portionof the plant receiving passage and prevents cotton from falling from thehousing 4B.

The upper pin roll 58 is mounted on the drive shaft 33, and the otherthree pin rolls are driven by power received from the upper shaft 38through a series of drive chains 75, each chain lil being trained over apair of sprockets 'H fixed to each pair of adjacent shafts 5D,respectively. .The shaft 38 receives its power from a V-belt sheave 12,which is driven through a V-belt (not shown) which receives power fromany suitable rotating shaft. The drive chains l5 and sprockets il areenclosed Within a cover 'i3 mounted mounted why 4bolts f1.9 .on :the`front .side Yof the rtilr @Xlehilsing 13 which Ais provided .withsuitable bosses 79 vfor `this purpose, `as* is well known to thosesklledin the art. "'.Theouterend `of the shaft 33 rotatably supported onthe tractor by means of a bearing .member A.30, within which the ballbearings?) is. encasedthe `member 80 being supported on an outerL-shaped `bracket A31-l .which has `a vertical leg 82 mounted .ontheforward lside ofthe axle housing :13 in a manner -imilartothatdescribediorftherinner brackett.

The gathering unit I6 is raised and lowered aboutthe axisoftheshaftBebymeans of a liftfing cablef connectedat oneendto abracket :tt.hais rigidlymountedonfthe. side. ofthe tractor 1.fienile 1|, The .cable`i.,pass.es `forwardly and downwardly under a sheave V:82, .which is:jours nailed :on the ,gatherer ira-ma `the cable passing rearwardlyalong the inzierfside of the-gatherer unit `and upwardly over a vsheave.8.13 which is journaled. on Ithe .rear side of .the tractor axlehousing `The cabie Ipasses over a sheave 39 which is journaled on alifting arm 90 rigidly clamped to thertractor `powerliftrockshaft 9| bymeans of a clamping device e2. The cable `liti passes downwardly overthe sheave 89 and is se.- cured to the `tractor body by means of .afitting 93. When the arm 90 is raised by rocking the rockshaft 0| in acounterclockwise direction as viewed ,in iFigure y1tlieicalile ,85 ispulledupwardly 4over `the sheaves 88,` B9,.therebyraising the sheavet'ltogetherwith the .forwardend of `the gathering unit .I-S.Acounter-lzalancing.spring 95 is connected .between Vva lug .SE .on thei transverse frame `illfei'iber 63 and a vertical supporting plate .91

`xed to therforwardsideof the tractor aid-choueinem;

vThe :forward end .of the .gathering unit. it" is -auged from `the,ground by `means of a ,gauge Wheel Hill,- whoh `is ,journaled von anaideV :|0.| rcar lied between the .forwardends oa pair ofarms |32,pivotally connected by a bolt |03 to the forward end of the cleanerhousing 48. A Vertical supporting member |04 is fixed to the axle |0|and extends upwardly and rearwardly and is connected at its upper end toan arm |65 mounted on a transverse rockshaft |06, which is journaled ina pair of laterally spaced bearings |01, which are attached to the uppertransverse frame member I9. A second crank arm |09 is attached to therockshaft |06 and is connected by a link Il!) to a hand lever swingablymounted on the top of the gathering unit I6 and provided with a suitablenotched sector ||2 to which the lever lil is latched in adjustedposition. By

wardly and is mounted on the forward end of a' tunnel H5, the sides andtop of which form er:- tensions of the side walls 24, 25 and top framemembers 22, 22 of the gathering unit. A pair of inwardly convergingguide members guide the row of plants into a slot HS between two guiderods I9, which guide the stalks of the plant in the row between thestripper roll 30 and the stripper plate 32. It will be noted that theside c mail l2|! 1is inclined Ainwardly land rearwardly ,-tof ywardtheistripper roll30 as indicated at .|&20,1for the .pur-pose ,oflgradually compressing the foliage Voi the cotton plants, Yas theAflatter are pulled .downwardly through the forwardly moving stripperroll -30 and .plate32. `The curvature .of the .concave .surfacer33-causes Athe plant to incline over the ,stripper roll30sothatsthebolls of cotnton are `engagedfby the .top of the stripperroll l.and are :thrown laterally into the cleaner hous-` ing .48. Thismovement of :the cotton is aidedby the propeller blades 66. Any`bollsrthatdrop on toppf `.the stripper plate `on the inclined `surfacel3i: 4slide `,or .roll from vthe Alatter to `the top of. the stripperrollfiiand do not-become lodged onfthe surface 35.

`:'Ihespacing between the curved lsurface-33 Lof the stripper-plate 232andthe .cylindrical stripper roll -30 can be adjusted byrshiftingtheentireginner wall .24 laterally .relative to the stripper `roll'l3-0, .since -the lstripperplate `32 is rigidly `iixedto the wall 24.`rllhis vadjustment is',-acco-rnplisherlL by two ,adjustable-devicesdisposed near thefffront andrear sof the, side .wall l2li, respectively.

`The-iront ofrthesideiwallu, is adj ustedflaterab lyzby ..meansof` adiagonalbraoe rod |2 pivotall'y connected by va -bolt |22 to theinclinedeframc inexnberrz 1 andnextending upwardly and laterally througha sleeve |23 vandthrough aisuitableiaper.- ture inthe .angecof thetransverse iframe-.member |0, the ange being bent downwardly .andlaterally as indicated `at |24; Theupper end wof the brace rod' |.2I isthreaded `to'receive. a Ynut .|25 at .the upper `end thereof and`a:second.nut |23 at thewlower ,endof the Fsleeve |23.; By adjusting thenuts 125, y|23 along .the -bracesrodl' i`2l, :the: `latter is shifted`.to lswing the'side wall 2.4 laterally to adjust the forward end of thestripperplate relative .to `.the stripper roll;

Tlfierear` `end `of the Aside wall -24 .is laterally adjustable ibyradjusting the .rear'lend ofl the inhorizontal angle member 23, thelatter being bentl outwardly, as indicated at |32 in order to space therear end of the frame member 23 from the flange |30. The bolts |3| areprovided with nuts |33, which are tightened rigidly against the verticalflange of the member 23, clamping the latter between the nuts |23 andthe heads of the bolts I3I. A second pair of nuts |34 is provided oneach of the bolts |3I, on opposite sides of the iiange |30,respectively. The bolts |3| can be shifted laterally with respect to theilange |30by adjustment of the nuts |34, and since the bolts |3| arerigid with respect to the frame member 23, the latter is shiftedthereby, to shift the side wall 24 and therefore the stripper plate 32which is rigidly xed thereto. plate 32 should be adjusted away from thestripper roll 30 when going from a crop of small plants to harvest acrop of larger plants, and vice versa..

Heretofore, some difculty has been encountered in harvesting cotton'fromthe taller than average crop plant, some of which are taller than theelevation of the upper end of the stripper plate and stripper roll abovethe ground, with the result that the tops of the plants sometimes becameentangled with the upper end of the stripper roll. To eliminate thisdifficulty, stalk depressor |35 is provided in the form of rPhe strippercylindrical stubv shaft'rotatably mounted on a bolt |36 which extendsthrough a suitable aperture'in the side wall 24 and the frame member 23.The stub shaft |35 extends laterally across the1..passage between thestripper plate 32 and the stripper roll 30, and is spaced ahead of therear end of the stripper roll to engage the tall plants and cause themto be pulled downwardly between the stripper roll and plate as theimplement moves forwardly, before the plants are pushed to the rear oftheV stripper roll and become entangled therewith.

The upper end of the stripper roll 30 is provided with a plurality ofaxially and peripherally spaced pins or pegs |40, which extend from therear end of the stripper roll 30 to points slightly aheadof the stalkdepressor |35. It is then found that in certain conditions, where thereare tall weeds among thecotton plants, the weeds tend to pull out by theroots and without the pins |40 the weeds Imerely hang over the upper endof the stripper'roll and accumulate Athere until the mechanism isclogged, or until the weeds are pulled out by hand. However, the pins orpegs |40feither chew up the weeds, or pull the tall stalks up into thecleaning housing 48 where they 'are torn up by the pin rolls 55.

. I do not intend my invention to be limited to the lexact details shownand described herein, except -as limited by the claims which follow.

' I claim:

` .1. In a cotton harvester, stripping mechanism comprising: an uprightwall; an elongated, rotatablestrippmg roll disposed alongside the wallW'ithits principal axis generally parallel to the plane of the wall andat an angle to the vertical, and with the periphery of the rollproximate to the Wall spaced laterally from the wall; 'and an elongatedstripper member disposed lengthwise in'thev space between the'wallandthe roll and having a concave side adjacent to and spaced from-theroll to provide a plant-receiving pas* sage, said concave sideconforming generally to the curvature of the roll and curving upwardlyabout the proximate portion of the roll and thence extending away fromthe wall and toward an upright plane including the axis of the roll toprovide a .member portion overlying the top of the roll and overhangingthe plant-receiving passage.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: saidmember portion runs lengthwise of the roll in the form of an overhanginglip.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, further characterized in that: saidmember portion has a top surface joined to the lip and runninglengthwise thereof, and inclining laterally back and upwardly toward thewall.

4. The invention dei-ined in claim 3, further characterized in that: theangle of inclination of said top surface is on the order of 75 degreesto the. upright' plane through the roll'axis.

MERRILL W. ROSCOE.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ithis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 545,117 Young Aug.v 27, 1895'1,006,614 Willis et al Oct. 24, 1911 1,217,408 casaron Feb. 27, 19171,384,264 Lockwood et'al July 12, 1921 1,717,409 Riza June 18, 19291,734,504 Stone NOV. 5, 1929 1,845,431 Martinr Feb. 16, 1932 1,886,151Benjamin Nov. 1,1932 1950902` Morse Mar. 13, 1934 2,001,079 Court May'14, 1935 2,045,633 Court June 30, 1936l 2,307,804 Ryan Jan. 12, 1943

